


5 Times Mike Flirted with Harvey Subconsiously, +1 Time He Did It On Purpose

by blackat_t7t



Category: Suits (US TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Flirting, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-28
Updated: 2011-08-28
Packaged: 2019-08-03 07:50:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16322147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackat_t7t/pseuds/blackat_t7t
Summary: Mike is always flirting with Harvey, and everyone in the office realizes it but him.





	5 Times Mike Flirted with Harvey Subconsiously, +1 Time He Did It On Purpose

**Author's Note:**

> Imported from LiveJournal on 10/16/2018
> 
> Original note:  
> written from a prompt [here](http://suitsmeme.livejournal.com/1110.html?thread=400726) at [](https://suitsmeme.livejournal.com/profile)[](https://suitsmeme.livejournal.com/)**suitsmeme** : Five times Mike unconsciously flirted with Harvey and one time he did it very much on purpose  
> 

**1\. Coffee**

Donna knew that Mike only brought her coffee when he wanted to get something out of her. So when Mike started bringing coffee for Harvey and leaving it on her desk in the morning, naturally she was suspicious. Her first thought was that Mike was trying to get something from Harvey, like a raise or a pro bono case of his own. Then she began to realize that Mike picked up the coffee on his way to work in the morning, before Harvey even got to the office. Although he always seemed vaguely disappointed that Harvey wasn’t in when he dropped the coffee off at Donna’s desk, she knew that he was smart enough to actually bring the coffee to Harvey himself, if he wanted to talk about a raise.

It took Donna a few days of Mike bringing coffee in to realize what was going on, mainly because Mike seemed not to realize it himself. He was flirting with Harvey, trying to do something sweet and thoughtful, and looking for an opening to talk to him about something besides work. Donna smirked when Mike dropped off the latest cup of coffee, and he just gave her a curious look. She shook her head as she watched him walk away, wondering how long it would take for Mike to realize what he was doing.

 

 

**2\. Lunch**

Mike and Rachel had been talking all morning about where they would go to lunch, discussing the pros and cons of the Thai restaurant Rachel wanted to go to and the generic family-style restaurant Mike wanted. They still hadn’t made a decision when they were walking out of the office and Mike wanted to stop to ask Harvey to come along.

Rachel watched with amusement as Mike ducked into Harvey’s office. The exchange was quick, as she knew it would be. Harvey would only ever say no to something like that, which Mike knew well. Rachel thought it was sweet that Mike kept trying, though.

“Maybe someday,” she said when Mike came out of Harvey’s office looking dejected. He gave her a strange look.

“Maybe,” he agreed, though he didn’t sound entirely excited about the prospect.

Rachel frowned and looked over at Donna, who rolled her eyes skyward. Rachel resisted the urge to laugh, wondering how Mike could act the way he did and still genuinely not realize how hopelessly in love with Harvey he was.

 

 

**3\. Errands**

Jessica had stopped by Harvey’s office to see how his latest case, a high-profile one that would bring a good deal of publicity to the firm, good or bad depending on how Harvey handled it, was going when Harvey’s associate cautiously opened the door and leaned in. Harvey motioned for Jessica to wait a moment and she obliged, observing the exchange between them with amusement.

“Um…” Mike mumbled as he glanced at Jessica nervously. “I’m going to pick some papers up from the client’s office. Do you want me to bring you anything?”

“Just the papers, would be excellent,” Harvey replied, sounding like he was having difficulty remaining patient with Mike. The associate nodded jerkily and ducked out of the room, hurrying off in another direction. Harvey watched him go with a bemused look on his face.

“He does that every time he leaves the building,” Harvey explained, as though he couldn’t quite understand the action. Jessica bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling. For someone who was known for his ability to read people, Harvey was surprisingly clueless when it came to his associate.

 

 

**4\. Touching**

Louis watched in distaste as Mike sidled up to Harvey, practically plastering himself to the other lawyer’s side. He was shocked and rather appalled that Harvey, who normally took professional distance very seriously, was actually allowing his associate to drape himself over him like that. Mike’s arm was linked with Harvey’s, and he leaned in close as he talked to him. Harvey, for the most part, seemed to be trying to ignore the fact that they were touching.

Harvey seemed to make some excuse to disentangle himself from Mike, and went over to the other side of the room. Louis took advantage of Harvey’s absence to voice his displeasure with Mike’s unprofessional behavior in the workplace. “You, Ross,” he addressed Mike, who smiled at him dopely. He’d probably had too many hits of the spiked punch. “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing. Hanging all over a Senior Partner like that? It might be fine at home, but not here.”

“What am I doing?” Mike asked, his eyes widening innocently. Louis was about to snap something about not playing dumb back at him, but he saw Harvey approaching from the corner of his eye and quickly left. He wondered as he glanced back at them if it was possible that Mike could truly not understand what he was doing.

 

 

**5\. Caring**

Harvey hadn’t believed Donna when she said Mike was flirting with him without knowing it, but he had to admit that it sure felt like flirting now, when Mike grinned up at him and accused with a smug look, “You care.”

“I don’t,” Harvey said evenly. “I just don’t want to lose someone who could be an asset to me.”

“You care,” Mike repeated with a goofy grin, more pleased by the vague display of affection than he ought to be. “You really do care.”

Harvey smiled slightly and rolled his eyes, amused and maybe even a bit flattered by Mike’s excitement. He knew Mike was a naturally affectionate person, more so than Harvey, at any rate, but he wasn’t entirely sure if this eagerness for Harvey’s approval was really a sign that Mike was interested in him.

“Maybe I care, but only about what good you are to me,” Harvey replied.

“You admitted it!” Mike grinned. “I knew it,” he said victoriously, like he’d suddenly been told that a far-fetched conspiracy theory wasn’t so far-fetched after all.

Harvey watched as Mike leaned outside the office and told Donna that Harvey had admitted to caring about him, and Donna simply rolled her eyes. Undiscouraged, Mike came back into the office and walked up to Harvey, hesitating only a moment before pulling him into a hug. “I knew you cared,” Mike said softly.

That was the moment when Harvey realized that, aware of it or not, Mike really was in love with him. And with that realization, something shifted and clicked into place in his heart, and Harvey realized he loved Mike too. Now all he needed was for Mike to see what was happening between them.

 

 

**+1. On Purpose**

Mike tried not to be nervous as he approached Harvey’s office bearing a cup of coffee, as he did most mornings. He didn’t want to act like today was different, even though he knew it was. This was the first time he’d spoken to Harvey since Harvey had admitted to caring about him, and since Mike had realized just how much that care meant to him.

When he reached Harvey’s office, he was surprised to find that it was already occupied. Donna waved him past, letting him deliver the coffee directly to Harvey. Mike hesitated for a moment, his hand on the door, then when Harvey looked up at him and beckoned him inside Mike took a deep breath and pulled open the door.

“I brought you coffee,” he said as he went up to Harvey’s desk.

“You always bring me coffee,” Harvey replied. Mike blushed a little and tried to smile. He held out the cup to Harvey, and let their fingers brush as he handed it over. He met Harvey’s eyes over to coffee cup as their fingers dragged together.

“Would you rather me bring you something else?” Mike asked with a little smile. “I could get whatever you want.”

Harvey laughed softly and arched an eyebrow at Mike. “You’re not exactly subtle, are you?”

Mike’s smile fell. He could feel his cheeks heating up even as he fumbled to deny the unspoken accusation of flirting. “I’m- I’m not… You… What?”

“Although considering all you did before you realized you were flirting, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the actual flirting is a bit heavy-handed,” Harvey drawled, smirking up at Mike from his desk chair. Mike gaped at him, open-mouthed. He felt like they were having two completely different conversations.

“What?”

Harvey straightened in his chair and leaned forward on his desk. “You’ve been flirting with me for months now. The coffee, the lunch invitations, the offers to run errands. The constant touching, and always wanting confirmation that I care. You were flirting before you even knew what you were doing.”

Mike stared down at the desk, feeling humiliated at being called out about something he hadn’t even been aware of. “If it bothered you, why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“What makes you think it bothers me?” Harvey asked innocently.

“You’re talking about it, for one.”

“I’m talking about it,” Harvey replied, his tone and expression amused, “because I wanted to make sure you understood that I feel the same, since you seem not to have a good idea of what’s flirting and what isn’t.”

Mike’s head jerked up, and he looked at Harvey with a shocked, scared, hopeful expression. “You do?” he asked, and Harvey nodded, smirking. “Why didn’t you say anything when I was flirting before?”

“Because I knew you didn’t realize what you were doing,” Harvey said, getting up from behind his desk and coming over the where Mike stood, invading his personal space. “I didn’t want you to get upset if I flirted back when you thought you hadn’t done anything.”

“I wouldn’t have been upset,” Mike murmured as Harvey leaned in close to him.

“Good,” Harvey replied, his breath ghosting over Mike’s lips. “Then you won’t be upset about this, either.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Mike’s, and Mike’s eyes fluttered closed. He reached up to wrap his arms around Harvey’s neck as they kissed. Outside the office, he could hear Donna laughing, but he ignored her and focused on the feel of Harvey’s mouth against his. He was amazed what one day of conscious flirting had won him.


End file.
